Richmond II Race Recap

Smith Grabs 15th Top-10 of 2022

Gilliland & McDowell Fight Hard for 27th and 29th-Place Finishes

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Front Row Motorsports (FRM) went short track racing over the weekend as NASCAR took to the Richmond (Va.) Raceway.

Action started Saturday night, under the lights, with Zane Smith and the Fr8Auctions.com Ford F-150 team. Smith and the No. 38 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team brought home their 15th Top-10 of the season after finishing ninth.

Todd Gilliland, in the No. 38 Pete Store Ford Mustang, finished just outside the top-25. He was 27th after racing near the top-25 all afternoon.

Michael McDowell and the No. 34 Chicago Pneumatic (CP) team finished 29th after getting their car better throughout the day.

Smith and the Fr8Auctions.com team came into Saturday night's NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race 50-points above the cut line to advance to next round in the playoffs. Needing a good finish and a strong points day, the No. 38 team accomplished just that.

Smith started the day by qualifying his No. 38 Ford F-150 in the sixth position for the 250-lap event. In the first stage, Smith was quickly shuffled back to as low as 15th but was able to climb back to a 12th-place finish in Stage One. He gained a few more positions for a ninth-place finish in Stage Two.

By the end of the race, the No. 38 team tried to make adjustments to get Smith back up front, but with laps winding down and few cautions, there wasn't enough time for the Fr8Auctions Ford to make a charge. Smith finished in ninth at the checkered flag for his 15th Top-10 of 2022.

“We just didn't have the speed to contend with the guys up front," said Smith. "The No. 38 crew tried to make a few adjustments to make it better, and it got better towards the end. Just not enough time for us to really make a big swing at it to put us up front. We had a good points day, which is what you need to make it through these rounds in the playoffs."

Todd Gilliland and the No. 38 Pete Store team got off on the right foot to start the weekend. With a 16th-place qualifying effort, the NASCAR Cup Series rookie settled in for a long 400-lap race.

At the drop of the green flag, Gilliland raced just outside the top-20. The Pete Store team went to work trying to find the right adjustment to help Gilliland improve his position. But, Sunday's race saw few cautions. It was a race of track position and pit strategy. The team just could not keep the same pace as the track cooled later in the day.

As the laps wound down, Gilliland found himself 25th and he finished 27th.

"We were in it early when the leaders had a really fast pace," said Gilliland. "It's difficult to stay on top of the strategy or the track. We had a good plan and really tried to execute everything right. We really did that at the beginning. But, I think everyone needed more cautions if you weren't a top-10 team today. It doesn't seem like it, but we were close to having a lot better finish.

Overall, I'm proud of my team for not giving up all day and continuing to try and work on the car.”

Michael McDowell and the No. 34 CP Compressors team had a similar story to the No. 38 team and Todd Gilliland as the race at Richmond got up to speed.

Starting the race in 34th, the CP Compressors team struggled to find grip early. McDowell felt the car build free over the long run, and with not many cautions to make adjustments, the No. 34 team found themselves fighting an uphill battle.

With mostly green-flag pit stops throughout the day, McDowell found himself on the wrong side of the pit strategy. With a few late cautions the team was able to cross the line 29th.

"Sometimes these days are just going to happen," said McDowell. "It's a product of racing here in the Cup Series. Looking ahead, we have two great opportunities to get ourselves in Victory Lane and punch our ticket into the playoffs. I'm excited to get to Watkins Glen this weekend to see what we can do."

FRM will travel to the Watkins Glen International road course this weekend for NASCAR Cup Series action. The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will enjoy a three-week break

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ABOUT FRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS Front Row Motorsports (FRM) is a winning organization in the NASCAR Cup and Camping World Truck Series and the 2021 Daytona 500 champions. The team was founded in 2004 and is owned by successful entrepreneur, Bob Jenkins. FRM fields the No. 34 and the No. 38 NASCAR Cup Series teams along with the No. 38 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series team– from its Mooresville, N.C. headquarters. Visit teamfrm.com and follow FRM on social media: Twitter at @Team_FRM, Instagram at @team_frm and Facebook at facebook.com/FrontRowMotorsports.

-30- TEAM CONTACTS: Michael McDowell John Dragonetti E-mail: jdragonetti@frontrowmotorsports.com Mobile: 704-578-9937 Todd Gilliland and Zane Smith Chris Murdock Mobile: 740-861-4534 E-Mail: cmurdock@frontrowmotorsports.com